This invention relates to a slide switch and, more particularly, to a DIP type slide switch having at least a pair of contacts contained in a housing, and a horizontally movable slider for electrical connection or disconnection of the contacts.
Well known slide switches have a housing member and a cover member attached thereto and having an aperture through which a knob of the slider projects upwardly for driving the slider manually in a horizontal direction. Such slide switches have the disadvantage that the contacts contained in the housing are often contaminated with dust, etc. which may come into the housing through the aperture, causing a malfunction of the switches. A specific disadvantage is found in the assembling of an electric device comprising a printed circuit board and a plurality of parts including the slide switch. Thus, after the above-mentioned parts are affixed to the printed circuit board by automatic soldering, the semi-assembly cannot be dipped into water for washing the soldering paste out, since the slide switch will be affected by the water. For this reason, the parts other than the slide switch are first attached to the pc board by automatic soldering and, after this preassembly is washed in water, the slide switch is attached to the pc board by manual soldering, followed by washing the manually soldered part with a water nozzle. This procedure is time-consuming and costly.
It is an object of this invention to provide a fluid-proof slide switch. It is another object of this invention to provide a fluid-proof switch which is simple in construction and low in manufacturing cost. According to this invention, a flexible sealing member of an insulating material is placed between the slider and the contacts to form a fluid-proof chamber containing the contacts. Other objects and the nature of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.